A8 Chip in iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus Capable of Playing 4K Video

The dual-core A8 chip powering Apple's iPhone 6 and 6 Plus appears to be capable of handling 4K video playback, despite the fact that the two iPhones have native resolutions of 1334 x 750 and 1920 x 1080 pixels, respectively.

4K video playback on the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus was first discovered by the developers behind WALTR, a Mac app that's designed to make it easy to upload and convert any music or video file to an iPad or iPhone for native playback, and reported by TUAW.

The discovery was made by the developers of WALTR, a great Mac app that allows users to quickly upload video files to their iPhone which aren't supported by iTunes, such as FLAC and MKV files. While testing the app developers found it is possible to playback 4K videos on the iPhone 6. Even if Apple hasn't announced it, the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus are ready to play 4K videos.

With resolutions of 1334 x 750 and 1920 x 1080, the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus won't be able to reproduce the detail in a 3840 x 2160 4K video, but the A8's ability to play 4K content means 4K videos side-loaded onto one of Apple's two devices will still be watchable.

It's highly unlikely many users will load 4K videos on their iPhones due to the massive file size of 4K content and the fact that there's little practical use for it, but it has the potential to be a somewhat useful feature for some users who want to play 4K video recorded on their devices as there are apps available that advertise 4K video recording on the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus.

Related Forum: iPhone

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Pro Dark Blue and Orange

iPhone 17 Release Date, Pre-Orders, and What to Expect

Thursday August 28, 2025 4:08 am PDT by
An iPhone 17 announcement is a dead cert for September 2025 – Apple has already sent out invites for an "Awe dropping" event on Tuesday, September 9 at the Apple Park campus in Cupertino, California. The timing follows Apple's trend of introducing new iPhone models annually in the fall. At the event, Apple is expected to unveil its new-generation iPhone 17, an all-new ultra-thin iPhone 17...
iPhone 17 Pro Iridescent Feature 2

iPhone 17 Pro Clear Case Leak Reveals Three Key Changes

Sunday August 31, 2025 1:26 pm PDT by
Apple is expected to unveil the iPhone 17 series on Tuesday, September 9, and last-minute rumors about the devices continue to surface. The latest info comes from a leaker known as Majin Bu, who has shared alleged images of Apple's Clear Case for the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max, or at least replicas. Image Credit: @MajinBuOfficial The images show three alleged changes compared to Apple's iP...
xiaomi apple ad india

Apple and Samsung Push Back Against Xiaomi's Bold India Ads

Friday August 29, 2025 4:54 am PDT by
Apple and Samsung have reportedly issued cease-and-desist notices to Xiaomi in India for an ad campaign that directly compares the rivals' devices to Xiaomi's products. The two companies have threatened the Chinese vendor with legal action, calling the ads "disparaging." Ads have appeared in local print media and on social media that take pot shots at the competitors' premium offerings. One...
iphone 16 pro ghost hand

iPhone 17 Pro: 5 Reasons Not to Upgrade This Year

Monday September 1, 2025 4:35 am PDT by
Apple will launch its new iPhone 17 series this month, and the iPhone 17 Pro models are expected to get a new design for the rear casing and the camera area. But more significant changes to the lineup are not expected until next year, when the iPhone 18 models arrive. If you're thinking of trading in your iPhone for this year's latest, consider the following features rumored to be coming to...
iOS 18 on iPhone Arrow Down

Apple Preparing iOS 18.7 for iPhones as iOS 26 Release Date Nears

Sunday August 31, 2025 4:35 pm PDT by
Apple is preparing to release iOS 18.7 for compatible iPhone models, according to evidence of the update in the MacRumors visitor logs. We expect iOS 18.7 to be released in September, alongside iOS 26. The update will likely include fixes for security vulnerabilities, but little else. iOS 18.7 will be one of the final updates ever released for the iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and iPhone XR,...

Top Rated Comments

farewelwilliams Avatar
141 months ago
ooooo, airplay for the new Apple TV in full 4k resolution. nice.

apple tv in 2015 confirmed.
Score: 23 Votes (Like | Disagree)
gavroche Avatar
141 months ago
4K video ? wait until apple provide iPhone with 64gb as the entry level.
with 16 gb space, it is pretty much useless.

I'm going to go out on a limb and say that someone looking to use 4k video can swing the extra $100 to bump to 64gb.
Score: 20 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Stratus Fear Avatar
141 months ago
Is it REALLY playing a 4K video if it is showing it on a 1K screen? I think it is reading a 4K video files, thrashing 3/4 of the data and displaying the remaining 1K video stream.

It is like when you buy a 24MP camera and are all happy that you have this high resolution image. But then you phone has a 2MP screen. What happens to the extra pixels? Well they are down sampled and not displayed.

It still has to decode the entire 4k stream. You can't just ignore data. Video decoding doesn't work that way. And even in the case of downsampling, you still need to take the larger resolution media as input, and process that data through resampling filters to a lower resolution, so overall the whole process is even MORE computationally intensive than if you could output the 4k video at a 1:1 pixel ratio on a 4k screen.

As to the article, this should come as no surprise. I wouldn't be surprised if even the A7 is powerful enough for it. The Cortex A8 in the iPhone 3GS was able to decode 1080p video, even though it couldn't display the full resolution of it due to the screen, and that was five generations of hardware ago.
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Keirasplace Avatar
141 months ago
I think that means the A8 will be in the Apple TV very soon... And the apple TV will have a major upgrade, probably a full App store.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
garnerx Avatar
141 months ago
It's highly unlikely many users will load 4K videos on their iPhones due to the massive file size of 4K content and the fact that there's little practical use for it

Translated:
Absolutely nobody will load 4K videos on their iPhones, due to the fact that the iPhone is a phone, not a 6ft-wide 4K display. Macrumors apologises for the utter futility of this news story.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
CrazyForApple Avatar
141 months ago
I just want a 4K or 5K Thunderbolt Display!
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)